


Nakai

by LittleLove940



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29909760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLove940/pseuds/LittleLove940
Summary: TK has one things that was more important to him than anything in the world: his little girl, Nakai.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, TK Strand & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 107





	1. Introduction

TK dropped to his knees as his little girl came running towards him. When she reached him, she immediately buried her face in his neck.

"Da-da sad." She said, her voice muffled. He held her tight.

"Only a little. I missed you last night."

She sat up and patted at his face.

"Kai miss Da-da, Kai love Da-da."

"I love you too baby. I have to go talk to Miss Taylor, so hold on tight. "

"Otay." She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood and walked over to the daycare worker. After he was finished explaining that he was pulling her out because they were moving, he made his way out to his car.

"Da-da."

"Yes Kai-kai? "

"Where goin'? "

He patiently strapped her into her car seat before answering.

"Gramp and I got a new job, so we are moving to Texas. Do you want to come? " He booped her nose, making her giggle.

"Silly Da-da, no leave Kai. "

"You're right, I'd never leave my Kai. " He pressed a kiss to her for head before closing the door. He had to compose himself as he went to get in the driver's seat, because he has almost left her, however unintentional it had been. As he drove to his apartment, he listened to Kai sing in the backseat, mostly nonsensical words to the tune of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.


	2. New York To Texas

The act of getting on the plane wasn't the hardest part of their move. Kai was very interested in the plane, watching them take off out the window as they waited to board their own flight. She even asked TK and Owen all sorts of questions, most of them asked so fast that it sounded like toddler jibber, which had to be answered appropriately or she would give them a world-ending glare. The hardest part was when they got on the plane and it started to lift off the runway. Owen watched as TK tried to soothe Kai as the plane took off. She wasn't really crying, just fussing as her ears popped during the take off.

"No like, no like." She shook her head, hugging around her father's neck.

"I know baby, it will stop in a minute." TK held her tight, pressing kisses to the side of her head.

She kept her face hidden in his neck, eventually falling asleep.

"I guess her ears stopped popping?" Owen asked, seeing his son shift his hold on the toddler.

"I guess so. She is completely out." TK smiled, gently running a finger over her cheek. She didn't even twitch, used to the gentle touches to her face. When he had saved her from the fire that had claimed the lives of her parents, the only way he had been able to calm the then-infant was to hold her tight and hum. This was something he had continued after he had officially adopted her. He reached into the backpack at his feet, pulled out one of her blankets, and laid it over top of her. He knew she would sleep as long as he was holding her, so he made himself comfortable in the seat before closing his eyes.

She slept for almost the entire flight, only awakening as the plane began its descent, most likely because her ears started to pop again.

"Da-da." She whimpered, rubbing at her ears.

"I know baby. We're almost done." 

He gently rubbed under her ears, trying to help relieve some of the pressure. He felt bad about the tears welling up in her bright green eyes, but it couldn't be helped until they landed. Once they had landed, he waited for everyone else to get off the plane, so she could walk off the plane by herself. He smiled as she waved at the flight attendants, who returned the wave with a smile and waves of their own.

Upon their arrival to Austin, their first order of business was to go and take a look at the firehouse. She had made a couple trips to the house in New York, so she was no stranger to what a firehouse was. TK loved the look of amazement on Kai's face as she took in the empty house, until she turned to look at him from where the ladder truck should be.

"Gramp, where 'ruck?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"We'll get one eventually, we just have to fix this place up a little bit first. What do you think, Nakai?" Owen crouched down next to her.

"Sad, why it sad Gramp?" 

Owen turned to look at TK, who shrugged. Kai had the uncanny ability to read a situation and relay emotions back that most other two year olds could not, something that Owen insisted was because of TK's influence.

"Something bad happened. That's why we are here, to help them remember and keep something bad from happening again." He hugged her, lifting her off her feet and onto his hip.

"Da-da and Gramp make all better?" She asked, looking at Owen and TK.

"That's right, little girl. We're going to help make it all better." Owen booped her nose, making her giggle. TK couldn't help but smile and watch as his father carried his daughter around the house, telling her all of the things he was going to do, starting with the memorial to the firefighters that had been lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the feedback so far :)


	3. Settling in

While Owen worked on getting the firehouse up and running, TK tried to set up a routine for Kai. He found a daycare for the days he was working dayshift, or had to go to a meeting, and was working on finding a reliable babysitter for the overnight shifts, all while helping his dad interview new firefighters and try to get the house back into operating status. Kai was not phased by the changes in her life, for the most part. Her only complaint was not being able to spend as much time with Owen. TK was thankful for that, because he had worked hard to keep Kai's life as normal as he could with the job that he had. One day, when he picked her up after one of his meeting, she gave him a confused look.

"Da-da?" She asked, kicking her feet as he strapped her into her seat. 

"Yes, Kai-kai?" He replied, pausing as he went to close the door.

"Go to doc'er?" She asked. As usual, she was being more observant that he had thought.

"Sort of, I went to talk to some people about some grown-up stuff." He kissed her head before closing the door. As they drove home, he listened to her sing in the backseat.

"Good day?" She asked.

"I had a good day. Did you have a good day?"

"Mhm, colored for Gramp."

He smiled as she started singing again, mostly just his name over and over again. He had taught her to sing a lot of nursery rhymes, but she always reverted back to singing their names to whatever tune she could think of. When they got home, she patiently let him help her out of her car seat before hopping her way into the house, leaving him to get her backpack. He heard her giggle when he approached the door.

"Nakai, my beautiful girl. How was your day?" Owen asked, kneeling down next to her and pulling her into a hug.

"Hi Gramp. Kai color for you." She said, looping her arms around his neck with a bright smile.

"Did you? You are so sweet."

She hugged him tight, making him chuckle as he returned the squeeze. TK went through her bag, pulling out a messily colored fire truck.

"Is this Gramp's picture Kai?" He asked, holding it out to her. She happily took it and put it in front of Owen's face.

"Mhm. Fire 'ruck!" She exclaimed. Both men smiled at her enthusiasm. 

"It's beautiful, thank you." Owen said. She pressed a kiss to his cheek before wiggling to be let down. He put her down on her feet and they watched as she took off her shoes, put them away, and wandered off to play with her toys. 

"She's settling in well, I'm glad to see that she hasn't been put out by all of these changes." TK said, hanging her bag on it's hook.

"That's all you. You've made all the moves to keep her on her schedule." Owen said, clasping TK's shoulder.

"Something needs to be normal right now, and I'd rather it be her than anything else."

TK kicked off his shoes and went in search of his daughter. He found her sitting in the middle of the living room, with a box of cars poured out all over the floor. She had two of them, one in each hand, and was trying to get them to launch off the rug to the hard floor.

"Da-da, help." She said, spotting him in the doorway. He quickly made his way over and laid down on the floor next to her, grabbing two cars of his own. Cars were one of his favorite toys when he was a kid, and Kai had gone of a car the first time he offered her toys, so she had a semi-large collection of toy cars. 

"I think we need a piece of track. Want to go get two?" He asked. She nodded, reaching into her toy bin for a couple pieces of track. TK set his piece up just right that he could get the car off the rug before launching one of the cars. As it rolled across the floor, Kai giggled and launched her own car. The father and daughter laid on the floor until dinner, taking turns launching cars and Kai running to collect them from wherever they stopped rolling. Owen watched them, smiling, from the kitchen. It had been a long time since he had gotten on the floor to play, and Kai asked him to do things like hold her stuffed animals or play with her tea set. TK made an effort to get involved with whatever his daughter was doing, instead of offering alternatives, even if that meant they were jumping in puddles or launching cars. 

When dinnertime came, Kai didn't complain about having to clean up. She happily retrieved the last of the cars they had launched, put them away in the car box, and put all of the toys away in her toy box. TK, who was trying to get her into the idea of cleaning up after herself, watched to make sure she didn't forget anything before scooping her into his arms and carrying her over to the table. After dinner was over, TK and Kai took over the task of cleaning up the kitchen while Owen went to start his nighttime routine. TK washed all the dishes, leaving the silverware and Kai's dishes for her to wash, before they both stuck the left over food away in the fridge.

"Bath time?" Kai asked, laying her head on TK's shoulder.

"Bath time, then bedtime." He replied, running a hand down her back as he carried her upstairs. After a quick bath, because he could see how sleepy she was getting, he got her dressed for bed and they curled up in the rocking chair that resided in his bedroom.

"Night night Da-da." She whispered into his neck as he rocked her.

"Night night baby, I love you." He whispered back.


	4. Meeting Michelle

After a long day, TK was trying to get Kai to actually lay down and go to sleep, but it wasn't really working. He had heard his father come in earlier, so he knew that he couldn't go downstairs while he was down there. 

"Come on baby, let's read a book and get calmed down." He said, watching her put the toys she had been playing with away.

"Read a book?" She said, cocking her head to the side.

"Yep, read a book. Which one do you want to read?"

"Green eggies."

He smiled, lifting her onto his lap before reaching for the book off of her shelf.

While TK was getting Kai settled, Owen and Michelle were having a conversation in the kitchen. After a bit, Owen went up the stairs to go to the bathroom, leaving Michelle at the counter. Michelle was surprised to when TK came down the stairs with a drowsy toddler on his hip. He was so distracted by the little girl that he didn't realize that there was anyone else in the room until he had gone around the counter. He looked up and was visibly startled to see her.

"Oh, hi Michelle, I didn't know you were here." He said softly. 

"You're dad and I were talking. Who is this little one?" She smiled. TK looked down at his daughter, as if completely unaware that anyone else could see her.

"Oh, this is my daughter, Nakai. You want to say hi to Michelle, Kai?" 

Kai lifted her head from his shoulder and took in the paramedic. Michelle couldn't help but be enchanted by the little girl with the curious green eyes. 

"Hi." Kai said, waving a hand.

"Hello sweetheart. Are you headed to bed?" 

"Mhm, night night wif Da-da." She said, laying her head back down on TK's shoulder. Michelle smiled at TK as he finished his bottle of water.

"She's adorable." She said.

"Thank you." He replied with a smile.

"Fank you." Kai whispered, already starting to drift off to sleep in the crook of his neck.

"How old is she?"

"Just turned two. You should meet her when she's wide awake." He rubbed a hand down Kai's back.

"If she's anything like you and your dad, I can only imagine what she's like." she said. He smiled at her.

"I need to get her to bed. Good night Michelle, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night TK."

He went back upstairs, trying not to jostle Kai. She was almost asleep, her face hidden in her neck. She was naturally a shy and quiet child, so he hadn't been surprised when she immediately buried her face in the place she had always found comfort. Once he was back in his room, he took a seat in the rocking chair to get her completely to sleep. This part of their routine was calming for both of them, since he didn't have to think of anything except for the soft puffs of breath against his neck. He knew the moment she was completely asleep, as he whole body drooped and her breaths got deeper. He carefully got up and tucked her into her bed. He took a moment to just look her over, as if it was the first and last time he would see her little face. Brushing his fingers carefully through her curly red hair, trying to get it to lay down, as it had been up in pigtails all day. He wasn't ashamed of his daughter, far from it, he had just had a lot of bad experiences with telling people he was a single dad. The most important job, to him, was making sure there was no one in his daughter's life that was going to hurt her. Alex, as much as TK had loved him, had never fully understood why TK had fallen so in love with someone else's child.

"Good night baby, Daddy loves you, to the moon." He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She let out a soft sigh, snuggling down. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

The next day, after shift, Michelle dropped by to actually meet the little girl. When she knocked on the door, she couldn't help but smile when she heard laughter coming from the house. When TK opened the door, he had Kai tossed over his shoulder.

"Michelle, nice to see you. Come on in." He stepped back, making Kai giggle again.

"I'm not intruding, am I?" She asked, stepping into the house and letting him close the door behind her.

"Not at all, it's just Kai and I at the moment. Kai, can you say hi, since you aren't sleeping now?" He pulled the little girl over his shoulder, so she was sitting on his hip.

"Hewwo." Kai said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Hello little one. It's nice to meet you."

"Da-da, fire?"

"Michelle is a medic. She rides in the ambulance and takes people to the hospital."

"Like doc'er?"

"Kind of."

Kai turned green eyes to Michelle.

"You play wif me?" She asked, sitting up. Michelle smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to play with you."

TK let her down and watched as she took Michelle's hand and led her over to her toy bin. He wasn't surprised that she pulled out her doctor bag and one of her teddy bears. Michelle took the bear and smiled at the little girl. Now that she was awake and animated, she could see that Kai was very much like TK, in the sense that she was soft spoken and all for helping. She played doctor with her, then took a seat to watch her and TK play with her cars. 

"Firsty?" Michelle looked at the little girl, startled. 

"I can get my..."

"No, me get. Da-da."

TK smiled and took his daughter's hand, to go into the kitchen.


	5. Color and Light

"Okay, the bar fight was not my smartest idea." TK thought as he sat in the back of Carlos' patrol car. He should have been surprised that Carlos was the cop that was on patrol in that area, but the universe had been handing him a lot of crap the past few days, so he wasn't really that surprised. "Should have stayed home, I am such an idiot." He should have stayed home, but Judd's words were still ringing through his head, and he want to let out some of that anger that he couldn't release on the man that he had to continue to work with. Even though the other firefighter didn't know about Kai, it didn't mean that TK didn't have to go out and prove him right.

As TK sat there, watching Carlos fill out paperwork and nursing his bloody lip, the only thing he could think about was the fact that Kai had a cold. He had gone out looking for something other than his daughter, something that would bring some color and light into his life, but he could see why this might not have been the best idea. He hadn't meant to start the fight, but he could only stand so many comments before he opened his mouth, even though he had been looking for a fight. He winced as he held the tissue to his lip, knowing he probably wasn't getting the spot that was actually bleeding.

"Let me help you." Carlos said. TK let him wipe the blood from his face, sparks of color and contentment rushing through him at the small touch and eye contact. This was what he was afraid of when he had first hooked up with the cop, when he had first realized that he was being drawn to him. He didn't want to get hurt again, and the scars from Alex were still not completely healed. The soft look Carlos gave him, the complete 180 from the angry looks he had been giving him earlier, was almost enough to make him melt, but now was not the time for him to be a puddle in the floor. He didn't mean to spout off his entire life story, but he was trying to keep himself from melting.

Once he was released, he rushed home to see Kai. He still felt like an idiot for the bar fight, and his treatment of Carlos, but he knew he needed to be home. When he walked in the door, he found his daughter sniffling in the living room, wrapped up in one of his jackets. She looked adorable, especially since she was so little anyway. Waving at the babysitter to go ahead and leave as he kicked his shoes off, he walked over to Kai.

"Hey baby, are you feeling better?" He said softly. She jumped up and made her way up to him.

"Head hurt." She said, lifting her arms to be picked up. He didn't hesitate to lift her up onto his hip, hugging her.

"I'm sorry honey. I wish I could make it go away." He pressed his forehead against hers.

"Da-da have boo-boo?" She gently touched his lip, making him wince.

"Daddy's okay. You want to doctor it for me?" 

She nodded, laying her head on his shoulder. He went into the kitchen to get an ice pack out of the freezer, holding her tight. After he had retrieved it, he carried her back into the living room and sat on the couch. He handed Kai the ice pack to hold on his lip, trying not to wince again. Kai gave him a look, cocking her head to the side and narrowing her eyes. The look was almost ruined by the little sneezes she let out, but it wasn't lost on him that his two year old was concerned about him.

"S'eepy Da-da?" She asked softly. Her eyes softened as she spoke.

"A little. Did Miss Toni give you medicine?" He asked, rubbing a hand down her back. She shook her head.

"Gramp." 

He nodded. Toni was the regular babysitter that they had on call, for overnight shifts and for nights when they both wanted to go out. 

"I'll ask Gramp what time he gave it was when he gets home. Were you good for Miss Toni?"

Kai nodded, yawning. 

"Kai good. S'eepy." 

He took the ice pack out of her hand and set it on the table, before letting her lay down on her chest. 

"I'm not surprised, especially with that little cold you have. You can go to sleep baby. Daddy's got you." 

"Love Da-da." She yawned out, snuggling down into his chest.

"I love you too Kai-kai." He whispered, pressing a soft kiss into her hair. She sighed happily, letting out another sneeze before closing her eyes.

That's how Owen found them when he came home. TK was sound asleep, his head tipped back and a tight hold on Kai, who was snoring into his neck, Owen knew that he needed to get them both up to bed, but he didn't have the heart to wake them at that moment. He knew he was going to have to ask his son why he had a busted lip, but that could definitely wait until the morning, when Owen was less drunk and TK was more awake.


	6. Morning with Daddy

TK sighed as he arrived home. The tornados had caused a lot of damage and they had been very busy. Especially after the dad died after looking frantically for his kids, TK knew that he needed nothing more than to see and hold Kai.

"Da-da, wind loud." Kai exclaimed, wrapping herself around TK's legs as soon as he walked into the house.

"Let your dad in the house before you pounce, Nakai." Toni said, shaking her head.

"It's okay Toni. Thank you for watching her." TK bent over and lifted Kai onto his hip as he spoke.

"She was a little angel, as always. We were out of the path of the storms, so we got some rain and wind."

"Thank you. I'll let you know the next time we need you."

Toni nodded, collecting her things so she could go home. Kai was rambling to TK, who seemed to be listening intently as he kicked his shoes off and shifted her so he could take his coat off. Toni could help but smile as she watched the duo. TK might be relatively young to be a single dad, but anyone could tell just how much he loved his little girl. Toni left, closing the door behind her, as TK and Kai made their way further into the house.

"You had a busy night then, my love." He said, carrying her into the kitchen. 

"Busy, busy." She nodded, playing with his necklace.

"How about you stay home with Daddy today, since you had such a busy night."

She looked at him with giant eyes.

"No days care?" 

He smiled, pressing his forehead against hers.

"No daycare, just Daddy and Kai." 

She dropped his necklace in exchange for patting at his face.

"Da-da and Kai."

He rubbed his nose against hers, making her giggle.

"First, let's make some food."

"Nums."

He walked over to the fridge and opened the door.

"Eggs and waffle?" He asked.

"Eggies!" She exclaimed. He chuckled, grabbing the carton of eggs. While his dad was all about healthy eating, he allowed boxes of waffles because they were easy to grab for Kai. While he popped the waffles in the toaster, he let her mix the eggs he had cracked in a bowl.

"Good job Kai. You want to eat a waffle while I cook up the eggs?" He asked after the waffles were finished and hers had been cooled enough to touch. He crouched down, holding out a waffle.

"Otay." She allowed him to tale the bowl and took the waffle from him in exchange. While he was cooking the eggs, she leant against his legs and munched away at her waffle. His limited cooking abilities meant that they had a lot of basic meals, but Kai would eat just about anything that he put in front of her.

"Alright Kai, go get up in your chair. The eggs are done." He said, looking down at her. She looked up at him, waffle hanging out of her mouth before she ripped the bite off.

"Otay Da-da." She got to her feet and hopped her way to the table, waffle in hand. 

While they ate, he couldn't help but watch her. Her hair had been brushed before he got home, but it was still a curly mess. He was trying to keep her from getting ketchup in the curls, which was working out better than he had thought that it would. By the time she was done eating, she had ketchup all over her face, which was a stark contrast to her pale skin and made him chuckle to himself. She giggled, looking up at him as he finished eating. 

"Alright munchkin, let's get the dishes in the sink and get the ketchup monster cleaned up." He said, stacking the dishes. He helped her down from the chair, so she wouldn't get ketchup all over the place. 

"Me no kat-up mons'er, me Kai." She looked up at him, drawing her eyes down.

"You're right, how could I be so silly?" He chuckled as she giggled, putting the dishes in the sink and lifting her onto his hip. He then carried her upstairs, to wash her face and fix her hair. She giggled the whole time as he wiped the ketchup off her face and hands.

"Do pigtails?" She asked, seeing him grab her brush. 

"Sure thing munchkin."

As he reached to grab her ponytails, he spotted pill bottle on the sink, with his dad's name on them. He decided to finish with her hair before he started investigating the bottles.

"Boo?" She said, looking at the ponytail collection.

"Blue bands it is. What ever shall we do with our day?" He said, gently brushing through her hair.

"Play toys, read a book, music." She said, nodding her head matter-of-factly.

"All our favorite things, of course. There you are my love, pigtails. How about you go find some comfy clothes to wear, since we aren't going anywhere today?"

"Otay Da-da." She hopped off her stool and darted down the hall to their room. TK took a moment to read the names of the medicines on the back of the counter, just out of Kai's reach. He typed them into Google as he walked down the hall, pausing when he saw Kai standing in the middle of the room with a pair of leggings in her hand.

"You want to wear those Kai?" He asked, setting his phone down.

"Uh huh." She smiled brightly at him.

Once she was changed, and he had pulled on a pair of sweatpants, he looked at his phone to see what Google had pulled up. All of the results were for chemo meds. He couldn't do anything about it, so he elected to scoop Kai up and carry her downstairs, to start playing and turn on some music.


	7. Revenge is... adorable

The next morning, Owen knew that he was in for something when it came to his son and his reaction to the cancer diagnosis. What he was not prepared for, was the fact that TK was using Kai. Owen let Kai pretend to doctor him, glaring at his son over her head. TK just smiled, going to make breakfast. Owen looked down at his granddaughter, who was humming and using her stethoscope to ‘listen’ to his heart. When she turned around to dig through her doctor bag, he went to stand to go help TK.

“Sit Gramp.” Kai said, glaring up at him as she realized that he was trying to move.

“Yes ma’am.” He said, surrendering. He should have known that his son would get payback for not immediately being told about his cancer, and Kai was the best kind of payback because she was adorable and vicious. She used a fake needle on his arm, humming.

“All better Gramp?” She turned softer green eyes to look at him.

“Much better. Thank you Dr. Kai.” 

She nodded solemnly, handing him a stuffed duck. She fussed with him for a minute longer before hopping off to find TK. After a couple moments of silence, he realized that she was probably done poking and prodding at him. He heard her giggling, sighed, and stood up from the chair. When he got to the kitchen, he was stopped by Kai in the doorway. 

“No Gramp, sit.” She put her hands on her hips and drew her eyes down in a glare. He put his hands up, seeing the malicious glare in her eyes.

“You better listen to her Dad, she can be very bossy.” TK said, putting plates on the table.

“Don’t I know it. I thought I was the boss around here.” Owen took a seat at the table.

“You were sadly misinformed. Nakai, get your little butt up to this table and eat. Your Gramp isn’t going anywhere at the moment.” 

TK turned a look at the toddler, who climbed up into her chair and immediately started eating. TK fixed her hair into a ponytail before sitting down to eat his own food. He made sure to limit the amount of ketchup that was on her plate, not wanting to have to have to change her clothes before they could leave. When they were finished eating, they got ready for their shift.

“Gramp, help?” Kai asked, holding up her shoes for him.

“Of course.” 

She sat down and lifted her feet so he could put her sandals on. 

“Fank you.” She grinned up at him. He booped her nose and smiled softly in return.

“You’re welcome.”

She stood up and hopped away, singing. TK came down the stairs, handed her her bag and swept her up onto his hip, before heading out to the car. Owen closed up and locked the door while TK strapped her into her car seat. The whole ride to the daycare, the backseat was filled with Kai’s jabber and singing, making both men smile.

“Gramp, no work hard. No more doc’er.” She said, looking out the window. She had a lot of conviction in her voice as she spoke, more than the average two year old should.

“Don’t you worry about your Gramp, he never works too hard. That’s what your daddy is for.” TK turned around to look at his daughter. She smiled brightly at him when she noticed him, her eyes bright with happiness.

“I take offense to that, you two. I work just as hard as everyone else.” Owen insisted, knowing his son was joking.

“Sure you do. Don’t listen to him Kai, Gramp doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

Kai giggled at her father’s words.

“Take care Gramp, Da-da?” She asked, cocking her head.

“Always do baby girl. Just like Gramp takes care of Daddy, and all the rest of the crew.” 

Once they had dropped her off at the daycare, they headed towards the station.

“You are an amazing father, TK. I am very proud of you.” Owen said.

“Thanks Dad, she really is the best part of my life.” TK smiled as they pulled out of the parking lot. They rode in silence for a while.

“Are you planning on telling the team about her?” Owen asked.

“Eventually, I’m still not 100 percent and I don’t want her to get hurt because I let her get close to someone who is going to leave.” TK sighed, messing with his fingers.

Owen nodded.

“I can understand that. Just, don’t let fear rule you to the point where you keep one of the best parts of you a secret.”

“Wise words coming from the man who kept his cancer a secret for months.”

They both chuckled.

“Judd is a good man to trust with a secret, just so you know.”

“Thanks Dad. I will tell them eventually, I promise.”

“That’s all I need to know. Come on, we have lives to save and all that fun stuff.”

Both men climbed out of the car and headed into the station.


	8. Carlos finds out

Carlos was sort of introduced to Kai while TK was still in his coma. It was an accident, he had made the last minute decision to stop at the hospital after his shift, just to see if there was any change in his status. When he walked into the room, he was completely taken aback to see the toddler sleeping in the curve of TK’s body, her face buried in TK’s side.

“It’s the only way she’ll sleep. I’ve tried so many different ways and this is the only way that has worked.” Owen said from the chair next to the window. Carlos looked startled as the man’s voice, looking over at him.

“Who..” Carlos started to ask, not really knowing how to phrase all of the questions that came to his mind in that moment, especially with the scene in front of him and the long day that he had.

“Her name is Nakai, and she’s TK’s daughter. TK adopted her when she was a few months old.” Owen started, seeing the confusion all over Carlos’ face. He wanted to help, but he knew that TK was protective of Kai and there was only so much he could volunteer to tell.

Carlos looked over at the bed, taking in the innocent scene. He knew that he and TK never really talked about their personal lives, but this wasn’t something that he was expecting to find out, that TK was a dad and had a toddler.

“She’s very cute.” He said, taking in the little girl.

Owen smiled.

“She is. It won’t bother her if you touch him.” He said, seeing how much Carlos wanted to reach out for his sleeping son.

“Thank you.”

Carlos walked over to the bed, taking a seat next to it. He reached over and took TK’s hand. He watched the rise and fall of his chest, mirrored by the sleeping toddler next to him. After a while, he turned to Owen.

“Can you tell me about her?” He asked. Owen looked up from the paperwork he was working on at the question.

“Sure. TK saved her from a house fire, her parents didn’t survive. She is very much like TK, other than the fact that she is very shy and skittish around new people. You should ask TK if you want to know any more, he is extremely protective over her.”

Carlos stayed a while longer, watching TK’s chest move with each breath. After a bit, he decided to let the family be. He squeezed the hand in his and bent over to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Thank you.” He said as he went to walk out the door.

“Come back anytime.” Owen said, smiling over at him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When TK woke up, he wanted nothing more than to hold his daughter. He needed to reassure himself that he was, in fact, awake and alive. Owen was happy to bring the little girl to the hospital, especially since she kept asking for her dad.

“Da-da!” She exclaimed, seeing him sitting up on the bed.

“Kai-kai.” He said, smiling brightly. Owen carefully placed her on TK’s lap, smiling as she leaned against him. TK ran his fingers over her cheek, smiling softly as her mouth spread into a bright smile.

“Miss you.” She whispered, looking up at him. Her fingers gently brushed over the bandage on his shoulder, making his shift slightly. He pressed kisses into the top of her head.

“I missed you. Have you been good for Gramp?” He asked, hugging her back. She yawned and nodded, curling up in his lap. He gently ran his fingers through her hair, letting her fall asleep. It warmed his heart to have his little girl back in his arms.

“I had to bring her every night, she wouldn’t go to sleep at all.” Owen said, taking a seat next to the bed. TK sighed.

“I’m…” He started to say, feeling the guilt. 

“Don’t apologize, you didn’t mean to get shot.” Owen stood and pressed a kiss to TK’s forehead. 

“I know.” TK sighed, leaning into his dad.

“I should probably tell you now, before he shows up. Carlos knows about Kai.” Owen rested his chin on top of his head. 

“How?”

“He came to the hospital after his shift one night. He said she’s adorable.”

TK sighed again, slowly running his fingertips down Kai’s cheek.

“I wasn’t hiding her from him. It just never felt like the right time to tell him, especially since we aren’t really dating or anything like that. I just…”

“You care about him, I can see that. I know you aren’t really looking for another relationship, but I can see how much you two care about each other.”

“It scares me, to have any feelings at all about someone. After Alex…”

Owen squeezed his hand, tilting his face up to look at him.

“Carlos isn’t Alex. I’m not an expert on relationships, but even I can see how you two are together. Don’t let one bad end stop you from finding someone to share the best parts of yourself with.”

“I know he’s not. It’s just...complicated. I was not looking for a relationship, I’m still not looking for one. But, he makes me see the world in color, not black and white. He is the only thing, other than Kai, that I feel like I can reach for when I’m having a bad day. After this, I’m not really sure about anything other than Kai at this point.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published fic, so please give me any feedback.


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